How-To
Running Android and Linux Applications on an Intel Laptop
In a previous article, I examined FydeOS, an OS derived from the open-source Chromium OS project. I was interested in this system because it is compatible with X64 systems, similar to ChromeOS Flex, which is also based on Chromium OS. FydeOS appears to address several limitations of ChromeOS, including support for running Linux and Android applications, as well as enabling users without Google accounts.
In this article, I will install it on the laptop on which I previously installed and ran ChromeOS Flex. I am excited to see how well it runs and to see if I can, in fact, run Android and Linux applications on FydeOS and how well they perform.
Installation
One of the things I like about FydeOS is that it supports running on physical PCs, virtual machines (VMs) (which I did in my previous article), on single-board computers like the Raspberry PI and other systems like Microsoft Surface devices. All of the installation bits can be downloaded for free.
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FydeOS optimizes and creates different installation media for different CPU variants. This not only improves performance but also reduces the size of the install media and kernel.
I selected FydeOS for PC and was directed to a secondary page, where I chose the Intel Legacy variant, as my laptop features a 4th-generation Intel Core i5-4310U CPU.
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I then used Rufus to create a USB drive with the downloaded image.
Once the system booted, I was asked what language I wanted to use and then if I wanted to try it first or install it. I installed it, and I wanted to do a multi-boot installation or a full disk installation.
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While the installation was in progress, pop-up windows informed me about what was happening, which is a nice feature that could come in handy for debugging.
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The installation only took a few minutes.
Once the system rebooted, I was again asked for the language and the Wi-Fi network I wanted to use.
I accepted the EULA and was then asked if I wanted to use a FydeOS, Google, or local account. I chose to use a local account. I entered a username and password for the local user and was presented with a desktop.
Tom's Tip: The local account is somewhat hidden on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen.
Expanding the applications showed that a few had already been installed, including Chromium and Store.
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The store had many apps, including YouTube and Office, which, when I launched, just opened a web browser for them.
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Running Android Applications
One of the issues I had with the VM version of FydeOS was that I couldn't get the Android Apps to work, and I was excited to see if it worked on the PC version of FydeOS.
To check this, I clicked on Sketchbook in the Store under Android Apps. I was asked if I wanted to activate Android, which I did. This is installed on the Fyde OS Android Subsystem. I then went back and relaunched Sketchbook, which was downloaded, launched, and ran as expected.
The Android App section had dozens of applications.
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I installed and ran Speedtest without any issues. I then installed a few different Office applications, which ran fine.
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Tom's Tip: I observed that some Android app sizes were wonky, as many apps were designed for mobile device screens rather than PC screens. Although the applications functioned adequately, their graphical user interfaces appeared slightly unconventional.
Tom's Tip: When installing Android applications, some got stuck at “installing.” I logged out and then logged back in, and they showed as installed, allowing me to use them.
Running Linux Applications on FydeOS
One of the issues I had with ChromeOS Flex was that when I used its Linux subsystem to run Linux applications, they would occasionally quit working. I would need to reboot the system to get them to function again. This was a sporadic problem that appeared to affect only resource-intensive applications. As running Linux applications on ChromeOS is allowed but not supported, I was not surprised by this, but I was hoping that FydeOS, which does support running Linux applications, would be more reliable.
Installation is similar to that of ChromeOS Flex
To enable Linux on ChromeOS Flex, launch the Terminal application.
From the Terminal application, click Set up in the Linux pane.
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This will bring up the Settings application. Scroll down to the Developers section and select Set up.
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In the Linux setup wizard, select the defaults, and it will download all necessary dependencies and set up a Linux environment on your device. This process took me less than a minute, after which I gained access to the Linux terminal.
I could then install Linux applications via the terminal using the APT package manager.
As with ChromeOS Flex, I first downloaded and installed LibreOffice, a suite of office applications, by entering
- sudo -s
- apt update
- apt install libreoffice
Once it was installed, the launch icons for the Linux applications were located in the Application launcher.
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I followed a similar process to install VLC and was able to play music and videos using it.
Accessing Shared Windows Folders
I store many of my documents, audio, and video media on an SMB folder on a NAS at my home and need to access them from the various devices that I use. Doing this was identical to how it is done with Chrome OS Flex.
Select the Folder icon on the toolbar, and then click the More options icon (represented by three vertical dots) located in the upper-right corner.
Expand the Service and select SMB file share.
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This brought up a file share wizard that is used to connect to a shared folder.
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Once the share has been added, it will appear in the left menu of the Files application, and files in the SMB folder can be accessed.
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I then right-clicked the shared folder and selected "Share with Linux."
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The folder appeared on the Linux system as /mnt/chromeos/SMB with an obscure filename that began with "d."
I then looped a video using the VLC Linux application while installing and launching other Linux applications to see if they would fail, as they did when running Linux applications on ChromeOS Flex.
Tom's Tip: I did find that I could not stream videos on the native Chromium web browser while playing videos using the Linux VLC player.
Final Thoughts
I found that running FydeOS on an Intel laptop is a solid alternative to ChromeOS Flex, with the added advantage of having full support for Android and Linux applications. Installation was quick and smooth, with the system offering local account support and a user-friendly setup. Android apps, such as Sketchbook and Speedtest, ran well, despite some minor scaling issues. Linux apps, including LibreOffice and VLC, installed easily and performed reliably, outshining ChromeOS Flex's inconsistent Linux support. Accessing SMB network shares worked seamlessly, making FydeOS a capable and practical OS for repurposing older hardware.